Events

Event Information:

Wed

01

Nov

2017

Waking Up White (And Finding Myself in the Story of Race) Book Discussion

7-8:30 p.m.

Do terms like "systemic racism" or "white privilege" puzzle you? Join a book discussion to investigate the historical context of suppression of people of color in this country and the struggle to understand racism and racial tensions. Irving’s book provides a starting place to begin coming to terms with the roles white people play, often inadvertently and unintentionally, in perpetuating the status quo of race relations in 21st century USA.

Here’s an opportunity to examine some common questions and assumptions that get in the way of honest conversations about race:

My family hasn’t benefited by slavery - my grandparents didn’t even come to this country until after the Civil War. We had nothing to do with slavery.

I got where I am by sacrifice and hard work. Anybody who wants to can do the same in this country.

I don’t have a yacht. I’m not privileged.

Don’t all lives matter?

Waking Up White by Debby Irving

“Irving’s personal and moving tale takes us on an adventure to a world utterly new to her as she wakes up to the reality of how, without her knowledge or active pursuit, she lives in a society which is set up to reward her at the expense of people of color. I cannot imagine a more understandable and compelling invitation to learn about how racism lives on in our homes, communities, and nation.” Bishop Gene Robinson, Retired Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Washington, DC.

This discussion is one of three planned and sponsored by Community Concerned for Justice of the Peterborough Unitarian Church and Monadnock Quaker Meeting. Discussion dates are Oct. 18th, Oct. 25th, and Nov. 1st. Admission is free.